Remote control using collectible object

ABSTRACT

A method of allowing remote control of an apparatus ( 130 ) using a collectible object ( 110 ). The collectible object ( 110 ) comprises an audio playback device ( 111, 112, 115 ), said device ( 111, 112, 115 ) being arranged to play back a sound ( 120 ) in which a command is embedded. This object ( 110 ) is provided to owners of the apparatus ( 130 ), e.g. through promotional activities. The apparatus ( 130 ) is adapted to receive the sound ( 120 ) with the embedded command, to extract the command from the sound ( 120 ) and to execute the command. By distributing collectible objects like trading cards and/or Flippo&#39;s with small audio playback apparatus, the trading cards can control the toys.

The invention relates to collectible objects such as trading cards, thatare typically used in conjunction with games, and to a method ofallowing remote control of an apparatus such as a game console,electronic toy or computer-controlled gaming system.

International patent application WO 02/39739 (attorney docketPHNL000591) discloses a system in which controllable devices such aselectronic toys are provided with embedded watermark detectors. Commandsintended for the toys are embedded using watermarks in a television orradio program which is subsequently broadcast or otherwise transmitted.If the owner of the controllable device brings his device withinreception range of the signal, the watermark detector can pick up theembedded command and subsequently the device executes it. For example, atoy can be arranged to move its arm or other limb, but also to play asong or output some sentence or word in response to receiving theappropriate command. The commands can be embedded at locations in atelevision program where the corresponding actions occur in thetelevision program.

This arrangement provides a business opportunity for toy manufacturers,who can now create exciting new toys that can “play along” withtelevision programs and the like. Further, the toys can be used aseffective advertising medium, by repeating the message from a commercialTV or encouraging the purchasing of objects presented in anadvertisement by responding positively, e.g. by shouting excitedly orpointing at the television. If the advertisement is confirmed by thistoy, the owner is more likely to respond to it positively.

A disadvantage of this business opportunity is that it requires theco-operation of the television or radio content providers. After all,the signals in which the commands for the toys are embedded are theirtelevision or radio programs, and so they must be convinced to embedthese commands in their content. It is to be expected that they willcharge a fee. This reduces the potential income for the toymanufacturers. Thus, there is a need for a business opportunity thatallows toy manufacturers to effectively market watermark-controlledtoys, without depending on third parties for distributing the commandsto the toys.

According to the present invention there is provided a collectibleobject such as a trading card comprising an audio playback device, saiddevice being arranged to play back a sound in which a command isembedded. Preferably the command is embedded using a watermark. When auser activates the apparatus in the proximity of thewatermark-controlled toy (or other device), the toy will detect thecommand and execute it. This invention can be applied in a variety ofsituations.

Because the signal in which the watermark is embedded now no longerrepresents a television program or the like, it is not necessary for thetoy manufacturer to share his profits with anyone else. He can simplymanufacture the toys and the collectible objects himself (or outsourcethis of course) and can so completely control the market. By selectivelyadjusting the quantities in which particular objects are produced, anartificial scarcity can be created which increases demand.

Preferably the sound comprises an audible representation of the embeddedcommand. This way it is clear to the owner/operator of the collectibleobject which command is being given. The audio playback device may bearranged to play back the sound only a limited number of times. Thisforces the owner of the collectible object to periodically purchase anewobject.

The invention also provides a method of allowing remote control of anapparatus, comprising providing a collectible object comprising an audioplayback device, said device being arranged to play back a sound inwhich a command is embedded, wherein the apparatus is adapted to receivethe sound with the embedded command, to extract the command from thesound and to execute the command. As a confirmation, the apparatus mayrepeat the sound upon the reception of the sound.

The command can be executed by reducing an artificial limitation on aperformance parameter of the apparatus. This way the performance of theapparatus can be influenced using the collectible object, making themmore desirable.

The command may identify a game element represented by the collectibleobject. The apparatus then executes the command by introducing the gameelement into a game being controlled by the apparatus. This way thecollectible objects provide a real-life extension to computerized games.Game elements obtained by collecting objects can now be introduced inthe electronic game.

Preferably the collectible object is provided during a promotionalactivity related to the apparatus.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from andelucidated with reference to the embodiments shown in the Figures, inwhich

FIG. 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the invention,comprising a collectible object and a controllable device;

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment in which the invention is used toenhance an electronic game; and

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another embodiment in which the invention is usedto influence the performance of a toy.

Throughout the figures, same reference numerals indicate similar orcorresponding features. Some of the features indicated in the drawingsare typically implemented in software, and as such represent softwareentities, such as software modules or objects.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an arrangement 100 comprising a collectibleobject 110 and a controllable device 130. The collectible object 110comprises activation module 111, audio playback module 112 and audiooutput module 115. The object 110 is decorated with a game element 116,here a graphical representation of a dragon.

When the user operates the activation module 111, for example embodiedas a button, switch or touch-sensitive surface, the audio playbackmodule 112 is triggered to produce a sound in which a command isembedded, preferably by means of a watermark. Alternatively the commandcould be embedded using inaudible tones or using predetermined types ofaudio to construct the sound. The sound is then rendered audibly assignal 120 using the output module 115, here shown as a loudspeaker.

In its most simple form, the collectible object 110 can only produce asingle sound with a single embedded command. This makes the object 110the cheapest and easiest to construct, and requires that a user collectsa large number of different collectible objects to have a large numberof embedded commands at his disposal. By itself such simple sound chipsare known from e.g. musical postcards.

The quality of the sound produced by such a chip may be low, and it maynot even be possible to embed a command using watermarks without audibledistortions. However, this is not a problem, especially in the contextof games. No high quality is expected, and the distortions may evencreate a mysterious effect for the listener. One could even use “whitenoise” or static as the sound in which the command is embedded.

One could of course also construct collectible objects that are able toproduce different sounds (with mutually different embedded commands) orto embed different command in one sound upon different activations.

The controllable device 130 comprises receiving module 131, detectingmodule 132 and executing module 133. The receiving module 131 receivesthe signal 120, decodes and processes it and feeds it to the detectingmodule 132. The receiving module 131 can be for instance a microphone oraudio-sensitive sensor of some kind.

The detecting module 132 obtains the embedded command from the signal120, preferably by detecting the watermark and extracting the commandfrom the watermark. Detecting a watermark and extracting embeddedinformation is well known in the art and will not be elaborated uponfurther.

The command is then fed to the executing module 133 which executes thecommand. The command may relate to control of a physical movement of apart of the controllable device 130, rendering of an audio output by thecontrollable device 130, rendering of a visual output by thecontrollable device 130, adjusting a value for at least one parameterassociated with the command, or other actions which the controllabledevice 130 should perform.

The commands can be embedded as short identifiers representing commands,for example numbers that are assigned to specific commands beforehand.This makes the information that needs to be embedded very short, and itstill allows potentially long and complex commands to be embedded. Thecontrollable device 130 then merely needs to look up the correspondingcommand for the identifier that is embedded in the signal 120. A singlecommand may trigger a sequence of predetermined actions. For example,the single command “start to dance” may trigger movements of the legs,head and arms of a doll that is suitably equipped.

For details on the construction of devices that can be remotelycontrolled using commands embedded using watermark technology in audiosignals, the reader is referred to, amongst others, the above-mentionedinternational patent application WO 02/39739, and to internationalpatent applications WO 01/61987 and WO 01/33836.

The collectible object 110 is shown in FIG. 1 as a trading card, but itcan of course be any type of collectible object. Examples are coins,miniature figures or statues or so-called “Flippo's” or caps. It is ofcourse long known that such objects can be traded or collected. Morerecently some of these collectible objects have become useful in thecontext of gaming. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,332 discloses amethod of playing a game using trading cards, commonly known under thetrademark “Magic: The Gathering”.

In such games, different cards represent different objects to be used inthe game, or different properties or “powers” for particular objects.For example, a player may have a card representing a warrior. Bringingthis card into play then is interpreted as attacking the other playerwith that warrior. The other player could respond by bringing a cardrepresenting a dragon into play, for instance. In addition to cards,physical objects like miniature statues of the warrior and/or the dragoncould be used in the game. A card could then represent an attack by thedragon with a particular severity.

In accordance with the present invention, these trading cards areprovided with the above mentioned modules 111, 112, 115. Bringing thecard into play is then done by activating the module 111, which causesthe card to produce a sound. For example, if the card represents aparticular attack to be performed by the warrior, the sound could be anaudible command like “Attack from the flanks!” or a battle cry. Theminiature statue of the warrior could respond appropriately by repeatingthe battle cry, or, if the statue is a robot, move the arms of thewarrior so as to simulate an attack. It's clear that such an enhancementmakes the game much more attractive.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment in which the invention is used toenhance an electronic game played on a game console like the NintendoGameboy. See a.o. U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,798, U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,799, orUSD 371,353 for details on this game console. The game console 130 couldbe a hand-held gaming console, an arcade game machine or a computerprogram running on a general purpose or specially adapted computer.

Many electronic games have so-called “cheat functions”. Using thesefunction a player could for example easily get extra weapons or otherobjects for use in the game, earn extra points, walk through walls, getaccess to a map of the entire gaming environment, and so on. Typicallythe code necessary to activate a cheat function is supplied by pressinga specific sequence on a keyboard and/or operating a joystick in aparticular way. In accordance with the invention, this code can besupplied using the collectible object 110.

Flippo's (small, round trading objects) originally representedcharacters from the Gameboy console game “Pokémon” (see U.S. Pat. No.6,251,010 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,012), and were distributed amongstplayers of this game so that they could trade them with each other andplay games using the Flippo's as game tokens. It was not possible to usee.g. a Flippo representing a valuable Pokémon character in theelectronic Pokémon game, or vice versa.

In accordance with the present invention, a Flippo 110 can be activatedin the presence of the game console 130. This causes the character inthe game corresponding to the character represented by the Flippo toe.g. perform an attack. In the Pokémon game, every character has adistinct battle cry, usually the same as its name. So, preferablyactivating the Flippo causes it to audibly render this battle cry.Clearly, this has the advantage that the player gets immediate audibleand visible feedback from the Flippo and the console game about hisaction.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, a toy 130 such as a racing caror toy robot can be controlled by activating the appropriate collectibleobject 110. For instance a racing car could be provided with anartificial limitation on its maximum speed, causing it to normallyoperate at 80 percent of its theoretical maximal speed. The operator canthen buy “power packs”, collectible objects with embedded playbackdevice. Upon activating such a power pack, control software in theracing car removes or reduces the artificial limitation so that the car(temporarily) runs faster. This gives the operator an advantage in carracing games. Of course, if one operator is allowed to use such powerpacks, other operators will want to do so as well and so will also buythe power packs. Clearly this is a very profitable business opportunity.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustraterather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art willbe able to design many alternative embodiments without departing fromthe scope of the appended claims. For example, the sound with embeddedcommand may additionally comprise an embedded identifier for aparticular controllable device 130 or a particular range of suchdevices. A controllable device that picks up the sound then onlyexecutes the command if the embedded identifier corresponds to its ownidentifier.

In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall notbe construed as limiting the claim. The word “comprising” does notexclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in aclaim. The word “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude thepresence of a plurality of such elements.

The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising severaldistinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. Inthe device claim enumerating several means, several of these means canbe embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact thatcertain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims doesnot indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used toadvantage.

1. A collectible object comprising an audio playback device, said devicebeing arranged to play back a sound in which a command is embedded. 2.The collectible object of claim 1, in which the command is embeddedusing a watermark.
 3. The collectible object of claim 1, in which thesound comprises an audible representation of the embedded command. 4.The collectible object of claim 1, in which the device is arranged toplayback the sound only a limited number of times.
 5. A method ofallowing remote control of an apparatus, comprising providing acollectible object comprising an audio playback device, said devicebeing arranged to play back a sound in which a command is embedded,wherein the apparatus is adapted to receive the sound with the embeddedcommand, to extract the command from the sound and to execute thecommand.
 6. The method of claim 5, in which the command is executed byreducing an artificial limitation on a performance parameter of theapparatus.
 7. The method of claim 5, in which the command identifies agame element represented by the collectible object and the apparatusexecutes the command by introducing the game element into a game beingcontrolled by the apparatus.
 8. The method of claim 5, in which thecollectible object is provided during a promotional activity related tothe apparatus.
 9. The method of claim 5, in which the apparatus repeatsthe sound upon the reception of the sound.